Nonfiction Essay

First off, this may seem like a lot of work to give you in a week, including the assignment from last week, the Untold Story, but hear me out:

as there's a pandemic going on, all our lives are in constant flux, and we are all struggling with coping, consider this not an assignment, but a catharsis: you have a wonderful opportunity here to write whatever you like that is about something you find beautiful or meaningful, it just has to be nonfictional ("true").

I'd suggest, if struggling, that you start by rethinking some of the daily writes we've done about beauty, or something new, for instance. Then, write that moment in time down as if it were a quick mental snapshot. Involve us with the five senses if you can do so, then change gears. Add another scene drawn from an idea that came to you while rethinking the first thought about something beautiful or meaningful. Keep adding to this until you can see a clear lesson beginning to form. If this is difficult, read the following piece I'm still slowly working through, about the passing of my grandfather: Grandaddy Posthumously.docx Download Grandaddy Posthumously.docx

Your essay is finished when the theme is explored. You should never write anything telling the reader overtly, "This is my theme," we should be able to feel it! If you look at my essay above, you'll note several possibilities: lessons about memory, family, loss, moving on inevitably, and change. I'm not sure which is my favorite, and that's why the essay just ain't done yet! There is no minimum or maximum page-length for this, since some themes are easier/more difficult to explore. Just make sure you do it "vignette-style," where you give an obvious break between each scene or image you want to show us. (Most authors use a double-line break, and ***  to delineate this).

Good luck, and happy exploring!